De Kock, poor fielding sees SL go 2-0 down

By Madushka Balasuriya 

reporting from Dambulla

Despite an unbeaten 79 from Angelo Mathews and Niroshan Dickwella’s first 50-plus score in nearly a year, Sri Lanka’s worst fielding performance of the Hathurusingha era, and a charmed Quinton De Kock 87 saw South Africa stroll to victory in the second ODI in Dambulla last evening. The result sees South Africa take 2-0 lead in the five-match series, and extend their ODI win streak against Sri Lanka to 10 games.

In their chase, having been set a target of 245 to win, South Africa set about with intent. Eventual Man of the Match De Kock, in particular, set the tone early, caressing Suranga Lakmal through the covers off just his third delivery, before cutting him through square a ball later. His opening partner Amla would join in later, memorably shuffling across the stumps before flicking Suranga Lakmal past midwicket.

The pair would go on to put on 91 for the first wicket, but not before receiving several reprieves in the process. Amla was the first to enjoy a second chance, whipping one straight to midwicket off debutant Kasun Rajitha, only to see Kusal Perera spill an easy chance - Amla was on 4 at the time.

De Kock would get his first let off on 18, also whipping one straight to midwicket - again off Rajitha - only to see a simple chance dropped again, this time by Akila Dananjaya. Rajitha himself would let go of a tough return catch later in the over to compound his misfortune.

Dananjaya would eventually make amends for his howler with Amla gifting him an easy return catch - one which stuck between his arms and midriff rather than being genuinely taken - but only after the South African stalwart had plundered a run-a-ball 43.

That wicket however would not stop De Kock, who continued his onslaught, finding the fence off consecutive deliveries the very next over off debutant Prabath Jayasuriya. And while South Africa would lose Aiden Markram a short while later - to Dananjaya again - if Sri Lanka were looking for an in, South African skipper Faf Du Plessis ensured that door remained firmly shut. 

Along with De Kock, who was motoring along nicely at this point, the pair took the visitors to within 83 runs of their target before Rajitha finally got his man. De Kock, just 13 runs short of his 14th ODI century, flicked a delivery that was full on the leg stump straight down Lakmal’s throat at the midwicket boundary.Still, South Africa would not allow Sri Lanka a way in however, as Du Plessis and JP Duminy brought the target ever closer with a 33 run partnership. Two quick wickets would though give the Sri Lankans some hope.

First to go was Du Plessis, one run away from his half century, he chipped an easy return catch to Dananjaya; a few balls later Lakmal got Miller to edge one to Kusal Mendis at slip. Duminy however was still at the crease, and he brought the required runs down to 15 before drilling one to Angelo Mathews at short cover. By then however the damage had already been done, and South Africa crept home with four wickets to spare.

Earlier, having won the toss and elected to bat, Sri Lanka scored just 51 runs in the last 10 overs for the loss of 5 wickets, as an innings which never really got going fizzled to an even more uninspiring end. That such was the case was all the more disappointing seeing the wasted potential throughout their 50 overs.

Following a top order collapse of epic proportions in the first game, openers Niroshan Dickwella and Upul Tharanga came out on the front foot looking to banish some of those demons. Tharanga in particular was quite impressive, taking Lungi Ngidi for two exquisite boundaries in the second over - to square leg and through the covers. That would be that though, with the left-hander bottom edging a wide one from Ngidi to the keeper soon after.

Ngidi would have his second the very next delivery, trapping Kusal Mendis in front with one that was straight and full, and one a batsman of his capabilities will be extremely disappointed at missing.

At 13/2 Sri Lanka would have been fearing the worst, however, a string of successive partnerships ensured that a repeat collapse would not be on the cards. But while each at one point or another threatened to jumpstart the Lankan innings, none would in the end.

The one constant throughout nearly all of those efforts would be Angelo Mathews, as the Lankan captain looked to be back to his best, scoring his first half century since returning from injury. Unfortunately for the skipper, however, whenever he may have thought of upping the scoring rate, a wicket would be given away. The most disappointing of which would be Niroshan Dickwella’s.

Dickwella had looked in fine nick in a 43 run partnership with Kusal Perera, following the team’s early stumble, but when Perera holed out to mid-on, trying in vain to drag a shorter delivery from outside off over the infield, at 56/3 Sri Lanka were still in muddy waters.

Mathews, though, would join the busy left-hander and proceed to craft a 67-run partnership that was had the makings to really threaten the visitors attack. Dickwella, who last scored an ODI half century in August 2017, put forth an innings brimming with confidence; littered with sweeps and late cuts, he rarely looked troubled. Mathews, too, was targeting runs square and behind the wicket, and his calm was proving an able foil to Dickwella’s sometimes brash brand of cricket.

However, on a wicket that had slowed down considerably from the first game a few days prior, Dickwella was unfortunate to be dealt a delivery that kept lower from short of a length. Looking to cut one off Ngidi, all he could do was redirect it onto the stumps.

This brought Shehan Jayasuriya to the crease, and with the game finely poised at 123/4 with just over half the innings completed, he and Mathews proceeded to put on 42 workmanlike runs, before Jayasuriya tickled one to De Kock down the leg side.

At that point, even though only five wickets had fallen, the home side’s suspiciously short batting line-up meant that Thisara Perera signified the last of the recognised batsman to join Mathews. The pair’s 32-run stand once again brought hope of a late charge on a wearing pitch, where even 260 might have proved competitive, but Perera’s lame effort at a pull saw him top edge another easy take for De Kock.

With still eight overs left in the innings, Mathews was now forced to play with the tail; during a period in which Sri Lanka would’ve been hoping to score at least eight an over, they managed barely over five as they limped to 244/8. Even without an abject performance in the field, it might not have been enough.